Encyclopedia of World Biography on Imogen Cunningham

Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976) was an innovative American photographer. She was best known for her detailed, sharply focused photographs of plants as well as her revealing portraits. Cunningham took many well-known portraits of celebrities and artists, especially while working for Vanity Fair in the 1930s.

Imogen Cunningham was born in Portland, Oregon, on April 12, 1883. She was the daughter of Isaac and Susan Elizabeth (nee Johnson) Cunningham. When she was a child, her family moved first to Port Angeles, Washington, then in 1889, to Seattle, where Cunningham's father ran a wood and coal retail business. One of ten children, Cunningham was named after a character in William Shakespeare's Cymbeline. The favorite child of Isaac Cunningham, she was educated at home by her father before enrolling in school at the age of eight. Cunningham was said to be interested in photography since childhood and was given art lessons, a luxury her family...